Congress did not delegate the authority to dictate vaccine and mask mandates … to the President,’ a group of 10 Republican-led states said in a lawsuit Friday

At least 20 states have now sued to block the Biden administration’s recent COVID-19 vaccine mandates after Florida, Texas, and two coalitions of Republican-led states filed lawsuits targeting the vaccination orders last week.

A group of 10 states filed a lawsuit Friday against an executive order last month that strictly mandated the experimental COVID jab with no testing option for all federal contractors, including millions of employees of private businesses that work with the government.

The initial deadline for compliance was December 8, though the White House partially eased requirements Monday amid pressure from business leaders during the ongoing supply chain crisis.

The 10 states’ lawsuit, filed with a federal district court in Missouri, argues that the Biden administration violated several U.S. laws, the separation of powers, and the 10^th Amendment by requiring that contractors get vaccinated.

“Congress did not delegate the authority to dictate vaccine and mask mandates on federal contractors — which would include agencies and political subdivisions of States — to the President or [the Office of Budget Management],” the states said, calling the mandates a “power grab … sweeping in its scope.” “Indeed, consistent with the non-delegation doctrine, Congress likely could not have validly delegated such sweeping and indeterminate authority, with enormous potential impact on the U.S. economy, to a single federal agency — and certainly could not have done so without an extremely clear statement of congressional intent.”

The Office of Budget Management “failed to consider the fact that its actions were contrary to law, as they were not authorized by the Procurement Act, the Procurement Policy Act, federal RFRA, or any other federal statute, and were also unconstitutional, as the Guidance violates the Tenth Amendment and was premised on an unconstitutional Executive Order,” the states added.

The complaint additionally slammed the Biden White House for not considering “the effect of large-scale resignations of unvaccinated employees of federal contractors, especially in an economy already experiencing high levels of inflation, labor shortages, and a supply-chain crisis” and “the effect this would have on the States.”

Minority workers with low vaccination rates will be particularly impacted by the vaccine mandate, which does not exempt contractors who work remotely or have natural immunity, the suit noted.

The 10 states who joined the lawsuit – Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming – asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to declare Biden’s mandate unconstitutional and to block the administration from enforcing vaccination and masking requirements for federal contractors.

Seven other Republican states brought another challenge against the White House on similar grounds yesterday. That lawsuit, led by Georgia, includes Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia, and called for a permanent injunction to halt the contractor mandate.

At its core, the mandate forces contractors to make an impossible choice: either (1) take enforcement action that may include termination of all unvaccinated employees, (2) face losing billions of dollars in federal funding. And because the administration has already amended the guidance multiple times, there is no telling what other onerous obligations may put state agencies in breach at a moment’s notice.

“Specifically, absent an injunction, Plaintiffs’ operation will be jeopardized as a result of Defendants’ adoption and implementation of the unconstitutional, illegal, and logistically unworkable Contractor Mandate,” stated the lawsuit, filed with a federal court in Augusta, Georgia.

At least 20 states have now sued to block the Biden administration’s recent COVID-19 vaccine mandates after Florida, Texas, and two coalitions of Republican-led states filed lawsuits targeting the vaccination orders last week.

A group of 10 states filed a lawsuit Friday against an executive order last month that strictly mandated the experimental COVID jab with no testing option for all federal contractors, including millions of employees of private businesses that work with the government.

The initial deadline for compliance was December 8, though the White House partially eased requirements Monday amid pressure from business leaders during the ongoing supply chain crisis.

The 10 states’ lawsuit, filed with a federal district court in Missouri, argues that the Biden administration violated several U.S. laws, the separation of powers, and the 10^th Amendment by requiring that contractors get vaccinated.

“Congress did not delegate the authority to dictate vaccine and mask mandates on federal contractors — which would include agencies and political subdivisions of States — to the President or [the Office of Budget Management],” the states said, calling the mandates a “power grab … sweeping in its scope.” “Indeed, consistent with the non-delegation doctrine, Congress likely could not have validly delegated such sweeping and indeterminate authority, with enormous potential impact on the U.S. economy, to a single federal agency — and certainly could not have done so without an extremely clear statement of congressional intent.”

The Office of Budget Management “failed to consider the fact that its actions were contrary to law, as they were not authorized by the Procurement Act, the Procurement Policy Act, federal RFRA, or any other federal statute, and were also unconstitutional, as the Guidance violates the Tenth Amendment and was premised on an unconstitutional Executive Order,” the states added.

The complaint additionally slammed the Biden White House for not considering “the effect of large-scale resignations of unvaccinated employees of federal contractors, especially in an economy already experiencing high levels of inflation, labor shortages, and a supply-chain crisis” and “the effect this would have on the States.”

Minority workers with low vaccination rates will be particularly impacted by the vaccine mandate, which does not exempt contractors who work remotely or have natural immunity, the suit noted.

The 10 states who joined the lawsuit – Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming – asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to declare Biden’s mandate unconstitutional and to block the administration from enforcing vaccination and masking requirements for federal contractors.

Seven other Republican states brought another challenge against the White House on similar grounds yesterday. That lawsuit, led by Georgia, includes Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia, and called for a permanent injunction to halt the contractor mandate.

At its core, the mandate forces contractors to make an impossible choice: either (1) take enforcement action that may include termination of all unvaccinated employees, (2) face losing billions of dollars in federal funding. And because the administration has already amended the guidance multiple times, there is no telling what other onerous obligations may put state agencies in breach at a moment’s notice.

“Specifically, absent an injunction, Plaintiffs’ operation will be jeopardized as a result of Defendants’ adoption and implementation of the unconstitutional, illegal, and logistically unworkable Contractor Mandate,” stated the lawsuit, filed with a federal court in Augusta, Georgia.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/20-republican-states-sue-to-block-bidens-vaccine-mandate-for-federal-contractors/